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recipes to make you hum with delight!

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Swedish Cake

January 21, 2015

Man, who else has a case of the Januaries?

I know that a new year is supposed to bring a whole host of new resolutions and new goals, but honestly, I'm just exhausted. Screw work, screw blogging and screw going to the gym. All I want to do is put on my polka dot sweatpants, camp out on my couch and watch episode after episode of Friends while drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate.

A few months ago, Bridlewood Estate Winery asked me to create a recipe that would pair well with their pinot noir. I don't have much of a wine palette, but Bridlewood's wine definitely brought to mind fruit flavors like raspberry and cherry, but a little bit more tart and almost peppery. I thought that this little bit of a kick would go well with dark chocolate, as well as bring out the hints of caramel and toffee in the wine.

To keep the wine and dark chocolate pairing as pure as possible, I combined the two in a flourless Swedish chocolate cake recipe. Apparently incredibly moist, gooey chocolate cakes are a staple in the country — its Swedish name is "kladdkaka", which translates roughly to "gooey" or "sticky" cake in English. All though there are many variations of the recipe available, the basic premise is the same: a chocolate cake made without any leavening of any kind, resulting in a brownie-like cake with a soft, gooey center. In this case, red wine was added to the cake to keep it moist and gooey while giving it a hint of boozy, fruity goodness.

Some baker's notes:

Because this cake doesn't use any leavener, it's really hard to tell when it's finished baking in the oven. Even though it looks like it's finished baking, be sure to cook it for the exact time that I listed in the recipe! Also, it's completely normal for the cake to sink in the center and kind of give off a flaky, crusted top (see Swedish blogger Call Me Cupcake's version, or Top With Cinnamon's) because of the lack of leavener in the cake — so don't panic if that happens!

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Swedish Cake

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Ingredients

For the Chocolate and Red Wine Swedish Cake:

(makes one 9-inch cake)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

8 ounces 72%-cocoa dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup red wine

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Recipe

For the Chocolate and Red Wine Swedish Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 (F). Prepare a 9-inch springform baking pan by spraying liberally with cooking spray and lining the base with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of boiling water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water), combine 1 cup unsalted butter and 8 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate. Melt, using a heatproof rubber spatula to stir occasionally. When both the butter and the chocolate are fully melted, remove from heat. Gently whisk in 1/3 cup red wine, and set on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Once the egg and sugar mixture is light and fluffy and has doubled in size, gently fold the cooled chocolate mixture (from the 2nd step) into the egg and sugar mixture until the batter is fully incorporated and is a uniform chocolate color. Transfer the batter to the prepared springform pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, before running an offset spatula or butter knife around the cake pan. Remove the side ring of the pan from the cake, and allow to cool on the wire rack.

Serve with fresh whipped cream. As the cake cools, it will deflate and sink slightly — a fresh, warm cake will have a chocolate lava cake texture, while a cool cake will have a dense, brownie-like texture.

46 comments

Do not give up Michelle! Those spinach and vegetable bundles are making you more beautiful ;) however I like you are still eating dark choc and red wine. The most sensible thing I have ever heard in long time. This is such a work of art and so simple too! The chocolate intensity you captured is mouthwatering!

Being on D-word is . First three weeks of the year I felt the same, and actually did the same)) But, suddenly, when my diet was over, I felt myself human again!)) ;))Kladdkaka is one of my favorites! I've made it back in summer...so good! I think I have to make your way, with wine))

Good lord this sounds amazing and looks incredible. I'm with you on the D-word. Mostly just the "please don't eat sweets and fats at least for today" diet. It's getting me through my holiday crack sugar cookie addiction. Good luck to you.

Januaries YES girl. I can't wait until summer...just a scant four months away or something. Or even for February because hello GALENTINES DAY!! I now want to make a mac 'n cheese bar a la Molly with a giant THISCAKE for dessert. This looks so insanely decadent and delicious...you sharing the recipe almost makes up for the fact that we just barely missed meeting up in Houston! ;)

Ugh, yes. I still expect myself to feel refreshed and full of energy after a break over Christmas but the reality is I'm even more exhausted than I was before. I'm all for making January nap month. I'm also on one of those dreaded D-things to try and shift a few pounds before I start looking for a wedding dress and it's the most tedious thing ever. I definitely need a slice of this gorgeous cake in my life asap.

UM. Is it sad to say that I'm the girl who has a bunch of red wine left over all the time because people bring it to parties and then leave it, and I don't drink it? :( still, I'm soooo so glad you're sharing this now--hooray for revitalizing and reappropriating le wine!

This looks absolutely delicious, Michelle! And don't worry. You are not alone. I have a seriously bad case of the Januaries. As it turns out, cutting back on carbs, booze, and chocolate seriously sucks. Thank goodness my birthday is right around the corner, which means I have an excuse to eat chocolate and drink wine (and do them both together using your recipe as inspiration!) yeahhh

Yay for Swedish chocolate cake!! And boo to January - it's the worst. It's also super cold outside so it does NOT help me with motivation to leave the house. All I wanna do is gorge on food so I can then hibernate until April.

I totally feel you; I'm emotionally and physically exhausted at the moment. I miss the sun. I need some days off from work and blogging. And I need chocolate. And cake. Okay, and red wine. As you said, chocolate and red wine are a pair made in heaven! I'm sure your take on kladdkaka tastes excellent.

just wondering if you've tried using blood oranges in your attempt to recreate the red velvet cake, blood oranges have a deep crimson color which would add to the red color of the cake and also give it an orange flavor.

I used orange extract instead of orange liqueuor (just cheaper). Cake came out delicious & moist. After making the frosting, I decided I wanted it a bit sweeter and bolder. Added 1/2 cup more of powdered sugar and a splash of orange extract. Loved the salt in the frosting. An easy, yummy, sophisticated dessert.

Hi, I just wanted to drop in and give this cake two thumbs up! I only made the cake part because I needed it to practice decorating with fondant. Took it to work and left before my coworkers ate it, but now whenever we have cake/cupcakes at the office they tell me that this cake was better, haha!